'Borderlands' (PS3)

First-person shooters comprising RPG elements have been on the rise of late. The marriage certainly worked well enough for last year's game of the year contender Fallout 3, although generally speaking the potential pitfalls of blending two genres are many. Gearbox's Borderlands treads similar ground to Bethesda's post-apocalyptic masterpiece, and while it's not quite of the same magnitude, it still does a lot of things right and boasts one of the best co-operative multiplayer experiences around.

Taking place on the monster-infested planet of Pandora, the game's cast of characters are all searching for a hallowed location known as the Vault, an arcane alien structure said to contain untold secrets. Unfortunately for the hardboiled cast, its whereabouts is the kind of well-kept secret that only a series of mission-based objectives and a whole lot of gunplay can reveal.

A charismatic comic book-style intro with a catchy soundtrack doesn't provide much in the way of plot, but it does unveil the four main characters, each serving as a different class of soldier. There's Roland, a tough-as-nails mercenary who is adept with firearms; a stealthy siren known as Lilith; a sniper with a deadly pet hawk called Mordecai; and brawler with a short fuse named Brick. Each character has their own agenda as well as the overall goal of locating the Vault, though storyline plays second fiddle to levelling up and blowing things up.

Each character brings unique abilities to the table, which radically alter the way you approach the game. Set in an open world that sits somewhere between Mad Max and the Dollars trilogy (but with hundreds of alien monsters), the game is a mishmash of mission-based objectives, RPG components, looting and shooting. There's plenty of variety on offer, despite some of the item retrieval quests feeling tedious. Other objectives involve blasting your way through dungeons or eliminating a certain target, and there are enough guns on offer to do this in style.

Borderlands packs a bigger arsenal than the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Starting out with a handful of rustic-looking guns, your inventory grows more sophisticated as you progress, and there's a new firearm to snap up at every turn. There're a dozen shotguns and the myriad automatics that have become synonymous with shooters, but there are also innovative blasters that you won't find elsewhere, such as the Boom Stick and a burst-fire missile launcher. With so many arms to choose from, there are times when you'll feel overwhelmed, though skilful players will soon settle on a handful of favorites that has them covered in any situation.

The levelling-up mechanic is seamlessly integrated and richly rewards the perseverant player. As you progress, your character's health and weapons capacity increases. Completing missions earns you money and experience and the rewards they bring keep you coming back for more. In addition to the main missions, there are several side quests for anyone wishing to level up even further and earn a few extra bucks. The simplicity of the RPG components is the key to their success. They take a back seat, only coming into play to reward you for your skill in combat. Any shooter fans who found Fallout 3's mechanics on the convoluted side should consider this as a viable alternative.

Looting aspects have a Diablo-esque familiarity to them but Borderlands does have a few ideas of its own. The Second Wind mechanic allows you to reel off a few final shots with your dying breaths, and should you happen to take down an enemy in the vicinity, some health and shields will be replenished. While this feature doesn't exactly turn the genre on its head, it will save your life on countless occasions.

Single-player mode is not without merit, but the only way to experience Borderlands is co-op multiplayer. Playing online with three other companions is essentially the same as playing solo... only four times as good. Teaming up with different classes allows you to form strategic partnerships utilising each other's attributes when the time calls for it. Players level up as a unit, allowing much swifter progression, and even the less interesting fetch quests come to life. Given that many of the game's vehicles require a tail gunner, it's obvious that Borderlands was designed with multiplayer in mind. It's a balanced affair as the level of difficulty is cranked up in accordance with the number of players in your party and the enemies are varied. Players cannot join up with one another unless they are within ten levels of each other, so inexperienced players will never feel out of their depth.

As entertaining as online play can be, the game is not without its issues. Firstly, you spend too much time running around from one place to another, constantly losing your bearings owing to a confusing map layout. It's also worth reiterating that some of the less interesting missions really do feel pointless and respawning enemies give them a degree of repetitiveness. Enemy AI can also be dubious. As most of your foes stick religiously to a certain patch of territory, they will not react to your presence until you step into that radius. This will often mean that some of them will stare right at you while you point a gun at their head from just a short distance.

It may have its drawbacks, but presentation is not one of them. Pandora would have been a dreary, barren environment was it not for the colourful character models rendered in a comic book aesthetic. Monsters are also well designed, each possessing a look of familiarity, yet at the same time some imagination is evident. A lack of rippling when you pass over water in a vehicle and some pixelation on shadow effects are the only real bugbears from a visual standpoint.

Borderlands may be the kind of game that would gradually grow tiresome in single player mode, but the multiplayer support brings it to life. With its well-balanced RPG elements and vast array of weaponry, it's easy to overlook its quirks. Just don’t expect flying solo to be anything like as satisfying as tackling those alien hordes with three comrades by your side.